Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA Decreases Stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA lowered its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 57.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,050 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,628 shares during the quarter. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PFG. National Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $998,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $32,473,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 47.3% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 50,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,630,000 after purchasing an additional 16,171 shares during the period. LBP AM SA bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $10,400,000. Finally, VCI Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $1,650,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Principal Financial Group

In other news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total value of $777,207.44. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 66,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,854,259.88. The trade was a 10.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total value of $259,233.93. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares in the company, valued at $2,208,781.98. The trade was a 10.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PFG shares. Evercore set a $108.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target (down from $98.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.90.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $110.87 on Monday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.00 and a 12 month high of $112.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.07.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 16.25%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 46.92%.

Principal Financial Group Company Profile

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ: PFG) is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, that provides a range of retirement, investment and insurance solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. The firm’s business is organized around retirement services, asset management, and insurance products designed to help clients plan, invest for, and protect income over the long term.

Principal’s product and service offerings include retirement plan recordkeeping and administration for employer-sponsored plans, individual and group retirement annuities, life and disability insurance, employee benefits solutions, and wealth management services.